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http://www.statesman.com/news/local/multilevel-bunker-found-under-east-austin-home-683270.html
Multilevel bunker found under East Austin home
No charges filed, but the structural integrity of man's house is a concern, officials say.
City code enforcement officials are assessing what to do about an East Austin home after a man built an extensive bunker beneath it that drew emergency crews Saturday morning, city officials said Tuesday.
Jose Del Rio, a Vietnam War veteran, built a "multilevel" structure about 20 to 25 feet below the home, said Doug Matthews, director of communications for the City of Austin.
Matthews said code enforcement officials visited the home at 2006 Canterbury St. in East Austin early last week after receiving a complaint about possible excavation there. Del Rio, a retiree, showed the officials the underground structure, Matthews said.
"The code officers went out to investigate it, and the individual was fairly cooperative and showed them what he had been working on, which turned out to be a multilevel underground structure," Matthews said.
There were two levels, and a third hole below those levels, Matthews said.
The code officials "had some concerns about the structural integrity of the building and the contents of what was down there," he said.
The visit triggered a search warrant at the home. Austin police and fire personnel, including members of the police SWAT team, bomb squad and fire search and rescue team, did a full sweep of the home Saturday, Matthews said. The warrant was executed shortly after 7 a.m.; neighbors were asked to leave, and the home was searched for more than four hours, Matthews said. Nearby Metz Elementary School served as the emergency crews' staging area.
Among the items recovered from the home were several weapons, inert grenades and 55-gallon barrels, which turned out to be empty, Matthews said. No charges have been filed in the case, police officials said. It was not clear whether Del Rio will face code violations, which could result in fines, Matthews said.
He said officials are working with Del Rio to figure out whether the home is salvageable.
A neighbor, Mary Montoya, said her family had seen Del Rio take away barrels of dirt in trucks for the past year. One of the holes from the digging reaches into her yard.
"We knew something was going on, but I never thought it would be something like this," Montoya said.
Matthews said that Del Rio might have hired some assistants for the excavation, but that could not be verified. It was also unclear how long Del Rio had been working on the bunker, Matthews said.
Melissa Martinez, a spokeswoman for the Code Compliance Department for the City of Austin, said "this is the first time we've dealt with this kind of excavation." She said the deepest part of the bunker was 35 feet below the surface.
Martinez said that finding out why the bunker was built was not a priority during the search of the home. She said a motive might be determined Thursday, when several city departments are scheduled to meet to decide what will happen next.
For the time being, she said, the home has been boarded up and the utilities turned off, and an 8-foot-tall fence has been placed around the house.
Travis County property records show a 586-square-foot home was built at the address in 1927. Public records show a Joe R. Del Rio, 70, living at the address. Attempts to reach Del Rio or listed relatives were unsuccessful Tuesday.
Del Rio is now living with family, Martinez said. "He won't be coming home for a while."
[email protected]; 445-5933
Additional material from staff writer Isadora Vail.
Multilevel bunker found under East Austin home
No charges filed, but the structural integrity of man's house is a concern, officials say.
City code enforcement officials are assessing what to do about an East Austin home after a man built an extensive bunker beneath it that drew emergency crews Saturday morning, city officials said Tuesday.
Jose Del Rio, a Vietnam War veteran, built a "multilevel" structure about 20 to 25 feet below the home, said Doug Matthews, director of communications for the City of Austin.
Matthews said code enforcement officials visited the home at 2006 Canterbury St. in East Austin early last week after receiving a complaint about possible excavation there. Del Rio, a retiree, showed the officials the underground structure, Matthews said.
"The code officers went out to investigate it, and the individual was fairly cooperative and showed them what he had been working on, which turned out to be a multilevel underground structure," Matthews said.
There were two levels, and a third hole below those levels, Matthews said.
The code officials "had some concerns about the structural integrity of the building and the contents of what was down there," he said.
The visit triggered a search warrant at the home. Austin police and fire personnel, including members of the police SWAT team, bomb squad and fire search and rescue team, did a full sweep of the home Saturday, Matthews said. The warrant was executed shortly after 7 a.m.; neighbors were asked to leave, and the home was searched for more than four hours, Matthews said. Nearby Metz Elementary School served as the emergency crews' staging area.
Among the items recovered from the home were several weapons, inert grenades and 55-gallon barrels, which turned out to be empty, Matthews said. No charges have been filed in the case, police officials said. It was not clear whether Del Rio will face code violations, which could result in fines, Matthews said.
He said officials are working with Del Rio to figure out whether the home is salvageable.
A neighbor, Mary Montoya, said her family had seen Del Rio take away barrels of dirt in trucks for the past year. One of the holes from the digging reaches into her yard.
"We knew something was going on, but I never thought it would be something like this," Montoya said.
Matthews said that Del Rio might have hired some assistants for the excavation, but that could not be verified. It was also unclear how long Del Rio had been working on the bunker, Matthews said.
Melissa Martinez, a spokeswoman for the Code Compliance Department for the City of Austin, said "this is the first time we've dealt with this kind of excavation." She said the deepest part of the bunker was 35 feet below the surface.
Martinez said that finding out why the bunker was built was not a priority during the search of the home. She said a motive might be determined Thursday, when several city departments are scheduled to meet to decide what will happen next.
For the time being, she said, the home has been boarded up and the utilities turned off, and an 8-foot-tall fence has been placed around the house.
Travis County property records show a 586-square-foot home was built at the address in 1927. Public records show a Joe R. Del Rio, 70, living at the address. Attempts to reach Del Rio or listed relatives were unsuccessful Tuesday.
Del Rio is now living with family, Martinez said. "He won't be coming home for a while."
[email protected]; 445-5933
Additional material from staff writer Isadora Vail.
